New Super Mario Bros.

Nintendo's portly tradesman has entertained gamers for 20 years,
with more than 180 million Mario games sold worldwide. The $14
billion earnt by the games dwarfs that of the biggest Hollywood
blockbuster movies.

But among Mario's library of 100 titles, his first few romps
through the Mushroom Kingdom remain the most fondly remembered.
Nintendo is banking on this nostalgia by taking us back to the
future with a new "hop 'n' bop" adventure.

Other than borrowing some moves from Super Mario 64, such as
wall jumps and ground pounds, New Super Mario Bros plays just like
the side-scrolling Nintendo Entertainment System classics of
yesteryear.

Choosing to be Mario or brother Luigi, players romp through
eight varied worlds filled with loads of secrets to discover, items
to collect, blocks to smash and foes to battle.

Each level is relatively short so getting to the exit is rarely
difficult - the challenge comes from exploring and finding all the
stage's secrets and different paths.

Power-ups are important, letting players throw fireballs, shrink
in size, wear a protective turtle shell or grow into an invincible,
block-crushing giant. It's just a pity the game lacks a raccoon
tail or magic cape to let Mario take to the skies.

More variety in the boss battles would also have been
appreciated - the repetitious encounters with Bowser Junior become
dull.

The game includes a bonus suite of entertaining touch-screen
mini-games, most of which will be familiar to owners of the DS
launch title Mario 64. There's also a fun two-player
star-collecting contest to add even more value to the package.

Endgame: Old-fashioned Mario fun. As pleasurable,
challenging and addictive as two decades ago.